An Evening With Bruce

There was a time…captured so long ago as to summon forth only glimpses of that evening. Hard to recall a lot of the in-betweens or how we all ended up together that night. We were stocked pretty well in those days and there wasn’t much that was going to be denied.

Walter was beginning to turn a bend and explore some of what had been gnawing at him around the time. Mark was excited about the possibilities. He gave notice that we were building up the repertoire we so needed to head back out on the road. His relentless pursuit of that poignant sound came in the form of endless rehearsal time. We took it from the top about a million times. Exactly what we needed but were too undisciplined to ever be too obedient to the song. We mixed it up with equal parts anarchy and compassion.

Chris always seemed fulfilled no matter his role and mastered whatever came his way. Wally was always troubled, tending to take life a bit too serious. Forever taking the Alley to where the ballad meets the bard. Then, you had Walter’s propensity to sink to the depths of a song with his unique and complicated philosophy. Add it all up and you had some intense sounds to contend with. Even got to the point ole Dreamy would come by and beg us to sing him just one happy song.

Well, on this particular night I suppose you could say we laid down some happy songs. At least on the record here we all appeared to be having a good time. Aside from the refreshments, there was also a special reason for the satisfaction to the sound that evening. On this magical evening our fifth wheel was there, the Mighty Bruce. Magically, he would guide the music, nudge each of us bring to the song the best that was in us.

Bruce was a mythical character. The king of improv with a flair for the dramatic and the goods to back it up. He had already climbed the mountain with the Smacks and was a survivor. When Bruce walked into the room, you always knew you were in for some adventure. He could orchestrate a room and was certain to pull the best out of anyone he played with.

A few of the songs on this record belong to Bruce. The whole evening is a taste of what spending some time with the boy could do. We had a standing invitation for Bruce being a full member of Freedom Alley. If he had pushed it, it probably would’ve happened. Yet, his lack of discipline made the rest of us look like union boys. No telling how far or where we might have gone with Bruce on board full time. All I know is a listen to this and you’ll have an idea what one sweet summer night could do.

Volume IV, An Evening With Bruce, captures Freedom Alley at perhaps its loosest. As was the tradition, the mics were set up, turned on, and the recorders rolled. The sound is unmistakable, the feeling is mutual.

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